Canasta

/kəˈnɑstə/ noun

Definition

A card game played with multiple decks where players try to form sets and runs to score points.

Etymology

From Spanish 'canasta,' meaning 'basket.' The game was invented in Uruguay in the 1930s and the name likely refers to the basket used to hold the discarded cards during play.

Kelly Says

Canasta became wildly popular in the 1950s and was one of the first games to spread globally through mass media—it shows how a game invented in South America could become a living room staple in North America and Europe within a single decade.

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